New tele project.

Having failed to find a tele that floats my boat I decided to assemble bits together and customise my own. I have only just started and have a nitro highway one body on the way from @CasperCaster and a Creamery 79 Bridge pickup on the way from @paulnb57&nbsp;;;;;;;;;;;

I promised missus munckee I wouldn't put new cash into this so I have to sell before I get the rest, but will be looking for vintage style bridge, wiring etc. My main decision at the moment is for the neck pickup, the body is routed to fit a humbucker. I decided to try for a sound I do not already have which has narrowed it down to filtertron or p90. From initial youtube research I'm leaning to p90 but there are a lot less videos of filtertrons.

Anyone tried both and have a preference, I'm a complete idiot at wiring, are there any potential issues wiring wise with either. If I get a bespoke harness put together do I need 250k pot for the bridge and 500k for the neck?

I've been thinking for a while about 50s wiring for the bridge pickup is it just a positive or are there negatives, can you do it for just one pickup?

are there any potential issues wiring wise with either? do I need 250k pot for the bridge and 500k for the neck?

The obvious problem that might arise is the phase relationship between the two pickups. Unless modified, the Telecaster bridge pickup shares one ground conductor between the copper coil and all the metal parts of the bridge. It would be desirable for a 'Tron neck pickup to have two-conductor + shield output cable. On a P90, phase issues can be corrected been rotating both of the bar magnets.

I would use 250k audio taper pots for both functions. Others might choose 500k. ICBM would probably do something clever with a resistor to make the neck position pickup think that it was seeing 500k.

The obvious problem that might arise is the phase relationship between the two pickups. Unless modified, the Telecaster bridge pickup shares one ground conductor between the copper coil and all the metal parts of the bridge. It would be desirable for a 'Tron neck pickup to have two-conductor + shield output cable. On a P90, phase issues can be corrected been rotating both of the bar magnets.

I would use 250k audio taper pots for both functions. Others might choose 500k. ICBM would probably do something clever with a resistor to make the neck position pickup think that it was seeing 500k.

Hi @Funkfingers with the separate wire Paul mentioned does that mean I can buy a standard telecaster pre-wired control plate or will I need something different, probably a stupid question, I can solder stuff I don't know what any of it means though : )

with the separate wire Paul mentioned does that mean I can buy a standard telecaster pre-wired control plate or will I need something different

The Creamery pickup will work with a conventional Telecaster controls wiring harness.

If you want to get "different", there is an eBay vendor who pre-assembles advanced circuit Telecaster controls. The pickup cables go into screw-down electrical fasteners. Hence, minimal soldering for you to perform. You get five usable sounds rather than three.

I'm thinking about what neck to get, there is a difference of about £80 between an unfinished neck and one finished in nitro (back and headstock only as going for RW/PF). I've seen spray can amber nitro for £12 but am I right I would need some kind of sealer to put on first and some kind of topcoat to go on at the end plus some skills I may not have.

Are my suspicions correct that buying the finished one will leave me ultimately happier and similarly out of pocket than possibly bodging a neck myself?

A couple of thoughts: The presence of a rosewood fingerboard makes the task of spraying easier in my opinion - no need to scrape the lacquer off the frets, and no issues with the lacquer crawling away from the edges of the frets on the fingerboard surface, as sometimes happens without sealer. So, with a rosewood fingerboard probably no need for a sealer, though it won't harm. But I wouldn't use amber alone - I'd seal with light coats of clear, then use light amber to take me to the colour I desired, then clear coat again. If you go too heavy or uneven with amber it's easier to strip it off sealed wood than if it's soaked directly into the timber. And using clear for the first and last stages means you only need two materials (clear and amber), though you'll need to factor in costs for abrasives, solvents and other sundries. If you are the type of person who enjoys the process, and wants to develop a new skill, you stand a good chance of success assuming you are methodical, and can be restrained and build up the lacquer in light coats. But the financial saving is likely to be small, and if something doesn't go right at the first attempt, finishing it yourself will probably cost you more. Of course there are loads of oil based finishes which can be applied by hand, which are viable alternatives to lacquer, and I am sure others here will suggest appropriate ones, and how easy they are/aren't to use and what they cost. One final consideration regarding skills/time/money is that with all necks there are the potential hidden costs of a fret dress and having the nut cut - many licensed necks like Allparts, Hosco and MightyMite are good, but do need some final work, whether purchased finished or unfinished. The same goes for 'Genuine Fender Parts' necks which certainly need the nuts cutting, and also often benefit from attention to the fingerboard edges and frets. Whatever route you choose, good luck, and we are all looking forward to your NGD post!

Thanks @CasperCaster so am i right I don't need to grainfill as its maple? and would I have to wet sand after the initial clear cost then between each coat and after the top coat?

Electrics wise I have decided to wire from scratch rather than buy a pre wired loom as I previously intended to. Just a standard 3 way but with treble bleed circuit. Still haven't decided on p90 or filtertron for the bridge.

Neck on way, I have bought the squier classic vibe neck from casper (maple with 9.5 radius) to go with the US highway one body, considering I was looking for a rosewood 7.25 neck this couldn't be much further away; as I promised I wouldn't put new money in to missus munckee this will allow me to get it built and then see if I still want rosewood 7.25 at a later point.

@alegree is making me a filtertron type neck pickup which is humbucker size so I can get a tele HB pickguard and crack on. Never had a pickup made bespoke before so am excited about that.

Considered a bigsby but budget doesn't allow and I promised my semi hollow a bigsby long ago and have never got round to it, imagine if I taunted it by putting one on this tele!

Going on holiday to cornwall tomorrow for a week then I will be ready to acquire the last bits and nail it all together and see if it floats...

From what I can see I have wired everything correctly and there is no sound from either pickup. What's the most likely cause, if I wired the ground and live wires from the jack the wrong way round would that equal no sound?

Desolder the capacitor and flip it over - so the long leg attaches to the pot body, the short leg goes through the middle lug and the cap body sits in the void between the two control pots. Bend the redundant lug(?) out of the way.